Ernest Gary Gygax (July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American writer and game designer, best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) with Dave Arneson, and co-founding the company Tactical Studies Rules with Don Kaye in 1974. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of the role-playing game.[2]

On March 4th, the Associated Press confirmed reports of Gygax's passing that originally were made by Troll Lord Games, a small role playing game company Gygax had been working with.He had been in poor health, suffering multiple strokes and a near-heart attack.

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Thanks for creating a fun game, Gary, and giving those of us with anti-social tendencies an opportunity to sit around a table, roll funny-looking dice and interact with each other in an entertaining and sometimes educational fashion.

Fish

03-04-2008, 01:06 PM

Quick! Somebody cast Resurrection +5!!

Rain Man

03-04-2008, 01:06 PM

Early reports that he was killed by a goblin with a +2 sword, 16 strength, and 18 constitution turned out to be incorrect.

Chiefmanwillcatch

03-04-2008, 01:07 PM

Very imaginative person. I read some his books.

Sad to hear it.

Ultra Peanut

03-04-2008, 01:10 PM

Being the father of all geek hobbies is a pretty impressive legacy, at least.

Rain Man

03-04-2008, 01:15 PM

Front and center, D&Ders. I played D&D religiously for about two or three years in high school. In a notoriously hard dungeon, I managed to keep one character alive the whole time - Malchor, the chaotic evil thief. He was below a 12 in every trait except dexterity (something like 14 - still not great), but he managed to get by on wiles and luck for years in a dungeon where everyone else died at least once.

Chiefnj2

03-04-2008, 01:18 PM

Lets all dress up in costume and attend the wake.

siberian khatru

03-04-2008, 01:18 PM

Front and center, D&Ders. I played D&D religiously for about two or three years in high school. In a notoriously hard dungeon, I managed to keep one character alive the whole time - Malchor, the chaotic evil thief. He was below a 12 in every trait except dexterity (something like 14 - still not great), but he managed to get by on wiles and luck for years in a dungeon where everyone else died at least once.

No wonder you fit in so well here at ChiefsPlanet.

jspchief

03-04-2008, 01:19 PM

I dabbled in it a bit, but never found a large enough group of players to really get anything going.

wilas101

03-04-2008, 01:20 PM

Front and center, D&Ders. I played D&D religiously for about two or three years in high school. In a notoriously hard dungeon, I managed to keep one character alive the whole time - Malchor, the chaotic evil thief. He was below a 12 in every trait except dexterity (something like 14 - still not great), but he managed to get by on wiles and luck for years in a dungeon where everyone else died at least once.

I got hold of the basic rulebook when I was like 11. It was downhill from there. Loved that game. For the longest time my brother and I played on our own because we knew nobody else that played..... I'd dm and purposely kill him, he'd get mad, we'd fight and swear never to play again.

Rinse and repeat the next day. :)

Hearing that Gygax died made me rather sad.

This line did make me laugh though:

Early reports that he was killed by a goblin with a +2 sword, 16 strength, and 18 constitution turned out to be incorrect.

Adept Havelock

03-04-2008, 01:23 PM

RIP, Gary. Thanks for the fun times.

:hmmm:

I think I've still got my original set of rules for "Chainmail" in a box with other books somewhere in the basement. Perhaps I should try to dig them out.

Amnorix

03-04-2008, 01:29 PM

That man was directly or indirectly responsible for thousands of hours of enjoyment. AD&D, D&D 3.0, D&D 3.5 most directly, and a fair bit of non-fantasy roleplay games as well.

Currently in a Mutants and Masterminds (superhero) game. Every other Saturday like clockwork with my co-30something-geek-friends.

Amnorix

03-04-2008, 01:30 PM

RIP, Gary. Thanks for the fun times.

:hmmm:

I think I've still got my original set of rules for "Chainmail" in a box with other books somewhere in the basement. Perhaps I should try to dig them out.

:hail: :hail: :hail:

Frazod

03-04-2008, 01:43 PM

RIP. Thanks for giving me something to do all those weekend nights in high school that I didn't have a date.

And considering that I spent a great deal of high school dating my future ex-wife, in hindsight, I wish I'd played more D&D. :banghead:

Dicky McElephant

03-04-2008, 01:58 PM

I played from the ages of 13 to around 19 before I found something else to take over my life. RIP...he'll be missed.

Braincase

03-04-2008, 01:59 PM

Early reports that he was killed by a goblin with a +2 sword, 16 strength, and 18 constitution turned out to be incorrect.

Brilliant!

Reaper16

03-04-2008, 02:01 PM

RIP, Gary. The entire realm of gaming thanks you.

Braincase

03-04-2008, 02:03 PM

Well, I obviously am an old-timer, started playing with the original three booklet set back when I was about 14. Funny thing, it was the D&D that got me into the computer lab over at Kansas Wesleyan and got me going working with systems. The guys I played with back in high school are still some of my best and closest friends, one was the guy I took with me to the KU game last night.

Had more than my fair share of Leeroy Jenkins moments...

Fishpicker

03-04-2008, 02:26 PM

RIP Gary Gygax

I never got into the D&D P&P games... I really wanted to but, most people thought D&D was satanic back then. (small Mennonite town)

I was still a D&D fanatic though. I bought rulebooks and modules just for the artwork. there was never a D&D video game that I didnt like. I admire Gygax because he was so creative and he did it because he loved the RPG genre before it even had a name.

Frazod

03-04-2008, 02:32 PM

This will be a good thread to identify those of us between 40 and 50. Nobody else will care. :D

wilas101

03-04-2008, 02:35 PM

This will be a good thread to identify those of us between 40 and 50. Nobody else will care. :D

hah... I'm only 38! :p

Frazod

03-04-2008, 02:37 PM

hah... I'm only 38! :p

Close enough. :)

Fishpicker

03-04-2008, 02:37 PM

This will be a good thread to identify those of us between 40 and 50. Nobody else will care. :D

32 here

Frazod

03-04-2008, 02:49 PM

32 here

I'm kind of surprised - I thought the whole D&D thing pretty much died out in the later 80s and 90s.

htismaqe

03-04-2008, 02:50 PM

I'm kind of surprised - I thought the whole D&D thing pretty much died out in the later 80s and 90s.

It didn't die, it evolved.

Look no further than World of Warcraft.

chagrin

03-04-2008, 02:54 PM

Front and center, D&Ders. I played D&D religiously for about two or three years in high school. In a notoriously hard dungeon, I managed to keep one character alive the whole time - Malchor, the chaotic evil thief. He was below a 12 in every trait except dexterity (something like 14 - still not great), but he managed to get by on wiles and luck for years in a dungeon where everyone else died at least once.

My first D&D module was Keep on the Borderlands; I was like, 9 I think, back in 1980 or so?Carrion Crawlers kept beating my ass, I was lame. I did get better, my favorite module was Queen of the Demonweb Pits - I think that was the name, heh.

I know that. Hell, even KOTOR uses D&D's personal stat system. But most younger people wouldn't know where that originated.

Ultra Peanut

03-04-2008, 03:01 PM

RIP Gary Gygax

I never got into the D&D P&P games... I really wanted to but, most people thought D&D was satanic back then. (small Mennonite town)Seriously. Between being in a shitty small town in the south and being a shut-in, I never got the chance to play as a kid.

That's right: I was TOO ANTI-SOCIAL TO PLAY D&D.

patteeu

03-04-2008, 03:03 PM

I played throughout college.* One of my DMs used to let people whose characters died roll 3 10-sided dice and a roll of triple zero meant that the Gods were smiling on you and you'd survive. I'm the only one who ever hit that God shot. It was the high point of my life... er... my magic user's life.

Gary Gygax is underappreciated by today's youth.

* Rain Man, if I'd have known you were such an uber-geek I'd have invited you to join us, but I assumed you were too busy slaying the ladies and making life better for orphans.

chagrin

03-04-2008, 03:05 PM

"it's rumored he dropped epic loot"

lol! From the Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gygax

Fishpicker

03-04-2008, 03:28 PM

I'm kind of surprised - I thought the whole D&D thing pretty much died out in the later 80s and 90s.

the cartoon was what got me interested in the first place. that came out around '83. there was a line of toys from that series too. I remember having quite a few of those.

the D&D sit-down-with-a-group-and-play method did die out in the 90's. But Gary Gygax had his name on a ton of merchandise, video games, toys, magazines, cartoons, and comics.

htismaqe

03-04-2008, 03:42 PM

the cartoon was what got me interested in the first place. that came out around '83. there was a line of toys from that series too. I remember having quite a few of those.

the D&D sit-down-with-a-group-and-play method did die out in the 90's. But Gary Gygax had his name on a ton of merchandise, video games, toys, magazines, cartoons, and comics.

It's not dead. There's a store over here by my office where they still get together and play...some days is D&D and some days it's pewter replicas of the Starship Enterprise.

siberian khatru

03-04-2008, 03:43 PM

It's not dead. There's a store over here by my office where they still get together and play...some days is D&D and some days it's pewter replicas of the Starship Enterprise.

Same here at the nearest comic shop. In fact, my geeky 12-year-old has expressed interest in learning to play D&D at their tables.

chagrin

03-04-2008, 04:29 PM

the cartoon was what got me interested in the first place. that came out around '83. there was a line of toys from that series too. I remember having quite a few of those.

the D&D sit-down-with-a-group-and-play method did die out in the 90's. But Gary Gygax had his name on a ton of merchandise, video games, toys, magazines, cartoons, and comics.

The cartoon really stunk, but I admit to watching it as well, but not for any D&D value.

Plenty of folks still play though...There are groups that gather almost every night, to play - in places that I know of.

Anyway, still a great game and I am glad I got into it back then.

Reaper16

03-04-2008, 04:37 PM

D&D is still HUGE. It's the best selling game for Wizards of the Coast, barely edging out Magic: the Gathering in revenue. That makes it a top 5, perhaps even top 3 brand for Hasbro (which owns Wizards).

Frazod

03-04-2008, 04:40 PM

I have no memory of the cartoon. Of course, in '83, I was a senior in high school. I was playing D&D, but also sleeping in on Saturday mornings.

Rain Man

03-04-2008, 04:48 PM

* Rain Man, if I'd have known you were such an uber-geek I'd have invited you to join us, but I assumed you were too busy slaying the ladies and making life better for orphans.

No problem. You people were too weird for me anyway.

Rain Man

03-04-2008, 04:50 PM

No wonder you fit in so well here at ChiefsPlanet.

Surviving in a hostile world with no positive attributes of note...now that I think about it, it was great preparation for life.

Y'know, now that you mention it, this has the potential to be the best funeral ever, at least until George Lucas dies.

kaplin42

03-04-2008, 04:58 PM

31 Here. And AD&D broke my P&P cherry. The fantasy of it all is what I loved, and truly the ability to play good or evil. To this day I can't stand paladins, even in the MMO's that I play.

Gygax may not of had is hand in everything that came after it per say, but tons of other games can thank him for bringing about the genre.

T'is a tragic loss to RPG fans everywhere.

RIP.

jidar

03-04-2008, 05:54 PM

Courtesy of woot! http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=4118
16 Gary Gygax Jokes We Better Not Catch You Making

1. “Quick! Someone cast Raise Dead!”
2. “Don’t worry – he’s just playtesting the Astral Plane for the next edition.”
3. “He’s gone the way of Star Frontiers.”
4. “Analysts warn of a free-fall in Mountain Dew futures.”
5. “In the next town, you meet a stranger named Barry Bygax.”
6. “Now who will lead our young people to Satan?”
7. “With his last breath, he cursed the name of Marlon Wayans.”
8. “I wonder how they’ll divide up his XP.”
9. “Pallbearers, make a Bend Bars/Lift Gates roll.”
10. "At least he didn't live to see Disney's Greyhawk On Ice."
11. “Lorraine Williams is behind this somehow, I just know it.”
12. “The worlds of adventure gaming, fantasy fandom, and van painting will never be the same.”
13. “When I heard, I cried 2d10 tears.”
14. “Is there anything in the will about electrum?”
15. “Heart condition? Wow, I always thought it’d be owlbears that got him.”
16. “Suddenly, nobody in Heaven wants to hang out with Marilyn Monroe on Friday night.”

Rain Man

03-04-2008, 06:03 PM

Lightening Bolt! Sleep!

That chick at the end makes me think that I'm the last person in the world without a groupie.

Adept Havelock

03-04-2008, 06:03 PM

I did get better, my favorite module was Queen of the Demonweb Pits - I think that was the name, heh.

RIP GG

Ah yes, Lolth and the amazing steampunk Spider Ship.

I loved that one, but my favorite was "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks". Nothing like dropping a wizard and Co. into a crashed spaceship.

LMAO @ 9. “Pallbearers, make a Bend Bars/Lift Gates roll.”

I suspect they also may have to make a Saving Throw vs. Hernia.

keg in kc

03-04-2008, 06:05 PM

I never played pnp. As someone else has said, I was also too antisocial for D&D, lmao. But I've spent countless hours in CRPGs, many based on D&D and/or set in the Forgotten Realms, and the ones that weren't D&D games were obviously influenced by it.

Sad news, and just a few months before the release of 4th edition.

Terribilis

03-04-2008, 07:46 PM

I DM'd from about 10 years old to 16 (car trumped dice)
kicking it old school
http://www.dantiques.com/tsr/p1-1.jpg

A friend got me to play for about 30 minutes in Junior High.
But living in a severely fundamental Christian house, I wasn't allowed to even think about D & D and all the satanic stuff behind it (Hell, my mom was so ****ed up with the fundaementalist Christian stuff that she wouldn't let me watch Smurfs because she had heard it had satanic ties).

So while I remember that 30 minutes as interesting and fun, I never got into it.